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~Shipping Authors' Café~

It occurs to some of the shipping mods that maybe this place needs to have something like this; where authors can get to interact with each other, discussing how horrible writer’s blocks are and so forth, specifically for shipping. If you guys have any suggestions on what kind of things can be improved or you want to see changed, please do post your concerns here. We’re sure there are other authors who might share the same feelings you do.

So to start things off, are there any suggestions on reviews? There seems to be a lot of repetitive reviews lately, so we want to know your (the authors’) input on how we, as community, can allow readers make a more constructive review.

P.S. I/We won't care if you end up "repeating" what everyone else have said, because they will result in a different format than everybody else's. So please, do feel free. ^^

I don't think an Author's Cafe is a bad idea at all, though were you planning on keeping it all in one thread? I imagine it could go off the rails pretty quickly, with people changing topics and asking for advice on different parts of writing left, right and centre.

As for reviews, I think a simple rule is probably the best one to keep in mind: leave a review that you yourself would like to receive. That is, try and focus on what element of the story/chapter you really enjoyed. Why did you enjoy it? Let the author know, so that they can improve and add more scenes/lines like that! The same is true for negative aspects of the story - why didn't you like it? Was a certain character OOC? Was the situation simply too unbelievable to accept? Was the dialogue way too cheesy? Was the description really lacking? Let the author know exactly why you didn't like a certain piece of the story. Quote the exact lines which irked you and, if possible, highlight in bold the pieces that really finished the deal for you. It helps an author so much more than a review either stating "This is great! Keep up the good work!" or "Your fic sucks".

Something which should be obvious, but sadly isn't always obeyed, is that you shouldn't berate a fic purely because it doesn't cater to the 'ship you like. If you hate Pokeshipping, for example, you have two choices: either don't read the fic, or read it with an open mind. Don't leave a critical review saying things like "This would never happen! X loves Y, not Z!" just because you don't like the starring 'ship. Now if the characters are being portrayed in an unrealistic way, then by all means let the author know (specifying the exact scenes and why you don't think they're very realistic). The quote tags are your friends, here.

Capturing a character's true personality seems to be the number one most common problem I hear from writers (especially shipping writers), so don't hesitate to mention if you think a character is being portrayed as OOC, so long as you provide evidence or explain your reasoning behind your claim.

When providing spelling/grammar help, try and quote the main parts, giving the author a good example of how to improve. For example, you should try doing something like this:

ORIGINAL:
ash what are you talking about May asked the boy angrly.

SHOULD BE:"Ash, what are you talking about?" May asked the boy angrily.

It really helps an author zero in on a problem by providing a clear, concise answer on how it should look.

And... Wow, I wrote a lot. But I think those are some good suggestions and I can categorically state that authors definitely appreciate a review far more (good or bad) if there's some thought put behind it in showing exactly what they did right/wrong.

^Yes, exactly, Gaz! You have no idea how saddening it is whenever I get a review less than two sentences. ;o;

To me, reviews often depend on the authors themselves with their style of writing. Like, if I see an author is struggling with grammar and spelling, then I'll mostly focus my review based on those two. I'll try to offer suggestions like methods of revising, tactics to use when it comes to writing--basically giving out advice while being helpful. I'll also reveal what can be improved, what the author's strengths and weaknesses are and stuff like that. Sometimes, I'll make a list of what is needed for a story to progress: literary elements and whatnot. It depends by author.

If I see an author who is already experienced, then I focus my review more about what I thought about the plotline, characters, and make predictions. I'll point out mistakes if there are any and basically comment on the author's style as a whole, letting the person know about what I think.

But in all honesty, for me, it always depends by author and by genre and rating. Reviews I make for G rated fics and NC-17 fics differs a ton so that I think counts.

I feel it's important that whenever you encounter a beginning author is to not discourage them from writing. Instead, offer suggestions and advice to help; everyone's got to remember we were all beginners at one point so respect is an issue. I think the length of reviewers is important, too.

Personally, I dislike one-liners for reviews because I never really know exactly what my audience likes or dislikes, so it's tough to figure out what people want in a story. Just think if you were the author then had a bunch of people say "this is great write moar" then you just don't really know how to react. I don't know, I feel reviewers should express more than just one sentence about their thoughts on a story. I mean, most writers I see here put so much effort into their work and to receive one sentence? I think that's just unfair.

So to make my post short & sweet, I'll put my outline of what a review should be somewhat like.

- First Impressions: Telling about what you thought of the title and its' possible significance. Let the author know that you saw errors right away. Talk about the genre, the length, and description you saw.- Spelling & Grammar: Basically reveal whether you saw run-on sentences, mistakes, etc.- Language: Take this moment to praise the author's choice of words and how smoothly the sentences flow together if it has been shown. Or, if the author is lacking, tell how they can improve.- The Story: Describe what you thought of the literary elements (plot, characters, themes, foreshadowing, etc.).- Likes & Dislikes // Personal Thoughts: Self-explanatory, but elaborate as to why you like or dislike something.- Advice: Tell how the author can improve, offer suggestions about something, anything you feel would be helpful can go here. Any other commentaries may go here as well.

I don't think an Author's Cafe is a bad idea at all, though were you planning on keeping it all in one thread? I imagine it could go off the rails pretty quickly, with people changing topics and asking for advice on different parts of writing left, right and centre.

Given that we have an almost 0&#37; chance of getting a sub-forum for it, the other shipper mods and I decided to have a stickied thread for it. ;-; It would be nice to have a separate forum so you guys can talk about different things, but for now, we'll try to keep up with community's concerns as best as we can and hopefully improve this place at least a bit. ^^;

Thanks for you guys' inputs so far, especially the examples and outlines! =)

Ugh, about time something like this came along. I just spent 2 hours on a broken down train in the middle of nowhere and need to rant! I'll probably say stuff that's already been said that but eh.

First off, I really hate little reviews that are, "OMG SOOOOOO GOOOD UPDAAAAAAAATE!" If that's all that's on their mind, tell me what's good about it. Here's my philosophy: Type a review that I'd love to receive if I was the author of the fic I'm reviewing. Seriously, think about the other person when reviewing, do you think the author fawns over little fanboy/girly reviews that are like, "OMG UPDAAATE PM LIIIIIIST PLZZZZZZZZ <3333"

I always love the reviews that give depth. They tell me what they liked, what they didn't, why they think so, what I could do to improve and more. Seriously, reviewers contribute to how much an author improves. Is it really fair to say, "OMG LUV UPDATE" to an author who clearly needs improvement or is it better to give constructive criticism? I think it's sad when I saw authors that never improve because their reviewers don't help them.

Also I think it's sad how people turn away from fics because of a particular shipping. I mean for those uncommon ships. They often get ignored and yet that means they're missing out on good stories. Seriously, there's fics I've read where I'm like the only reviewer and it makes me sad when people are missing out just because it's not "OMGPOKESHIPPING! CONTESTSHIPPING LUUUUUUUV! HEART HEART!" I like the people who go for variety. Who wants to read the same plots and shippings over and over again?

Plus I hate it when people write stuff that has been written time and time again, especially if they don't add their twist and style to it. Seriously, how many oneshots have you seen where there's a contest, Drew/May battles someone, OMG!confession and they kiss? Or Misty finally admits her feelings for Ash! Ash feels the same way! Kiss.

I also hate plots that turn out really convenient. Like it flows too easily, problems solved within seconds. Honestly, how many stories have we had where it's like: Ash does something bad! Next chapter, Ash and May make up! All chapters onwards, Ash and May are still a couple and anyone who attempts to interfere end up being shot down and every other characters hates on them.

OMG my fics are probably cliche too. So much stuff is cliche, so it's really hard to find originality these days. All I can say is that the newer authors can learn from the veterans such as Gazmof, Uzamaki Hinata, ~Mist~, Encyclopika, Water Spirit and other excellent authors and first off, get a grip on their grammar/spelling and work out a plot that is really different from the current fics.

Also shipping fics never seem to incorporate anything other than shipping. A fic can be more than just 'two characters get together!' A shipping fic doesn't mean it has to be all about shipping. A shipping fic is just a fic that includes shipping. That's what I like about fics like 'Good Love Charm' (by Gazmof), you care for more than just the shipping. I like all the stuff going on with the characters in his fic and the Advanceshipping has turned into a side "Awww" for me.

Not to mention, I hate it when authors post stuff when they haven't checked over it or made sure it was perfect enough for them. I hate the excuse, 'I wrote this in a rush!" Because that makes everything okay now, does it? WTF it doesn't. There's no pressure to post stuff, people can take their time.

Also the excuse of being a newbie author is old. There are people who have written fics for a long time and are still average writers - like me, I consider myself average at writing - and some new authors start off so well it's hard to believe they're new. Everyone has written stories and stuff before they try fic writing.

Ah yes and the one thing that really bugs me is the people who write for reviews, not because they love it and they want to learn and improve their writing skills. Popularity >>>> skill half the time in the fanfiction world. Just because they write popular shippings and the readers know they're going to get shippy moments doesn't mean that what they write is great. In fact, lots of popular fics (I'm mostly talking ff.net here) aren't as great as the amount of reviews may suggest.

In fact, I admire authors who are brilliant but barely get notice because what they write isn't "popular" material and such. I also pity the authors who don't get notice. Seriously, shipping fics are more than just omg!soandsokissed and omg!popularshipslove and stuff...

Also people who write ships just ebcause they're popular are sorta lame. They should write ships they love, not "Im ritng drew x may because people wil review my fics! dat way! rnt i kool?" Ugh, I'm not trying to bash ships here but seriously, if you like popular ships, that's fine but at least put effort into it and make it more than just an -insert shipping here- fic.

So I guess to summarize what I said: put effort into reviews, be more innovative with plots, work on basics, write because you love it, read and write a variety (try something new =P) of different ships to the usual, don't make excuses when people criticise your writing and yeah...

Ugh, that probably blew off some steam or whatever. Let's see how many people take what has been said by me and others into consideration. I agree with Mist and Gaz's posts entirely, methinks. Done.

Mel-Girl out. Ha, that sounds so lame. I better post now or I never will. XD

Well first to the reviews. i do agree with Mel girl that people don't read becoz of a shipping like they won't read it because it's contestshipping or pokeshipping and so on. and i hate reviews that say

"OMG NICE FIC LOVE IT!" and say it after evey chapter. i just go. "Is that all they can say?"

Anyway with the writers block i don't really have writers block but i do have writer's block on a story at a few times. like with my newest story i do get a few writer's block on what pokemon battle to write and what pokemon to put in.

And when i read a fic i really hate it when a person writes all negitive points in mine or somebody's else fic. sometimes that makes the autor give up hope and never write again. that nearly happened to me until a review brought my hopes up again.

Look i might be a advanceshipper but i do read poke and contestshipping fics as well. there are really good fics out there that doesn't have to be advanceshipping.

With the reviews i nearly do the same like midnightjewelz.

Also with the stories i like fics that have a twist or a cliffhanger.it gives that eager feeling to read more of that fic.

Firstly, I hate reviews that are basically 'Update soon!!11!!', 'Omg i looooooove it! can't wait for the next chapter!!' and that's ALL they write in that post. If review is just like that, I can simply write 'I love it, please update soon!' and copy and paste in every fic.

IMO, a review should be about both the positive and negative sides of the story; positive comments encourage the author to write more while negative comments made the author improve on his/her writing skill. An author should be able to take in harsh comment as that's the only way they could improve in his/her work. Imagine an author getting all positive comments, he/she will never improve as nobody tell him/her where and how he/she could improve.

Also, if there's mistake, the reviewer should point it out so that the author could fix the mistake. For me, I can easily mistype word such as typing 'then' when I want to type 'that'. (There's something wrong with my brain) When I review a story, I tried to write as much as I could but sometime the chapter is way to short and there's nothing much you could write about.

Secondly, I don't like story that are rushed or the words are simply 'one day ash and misty blah blah blah' Seriously, is there something wrong with their keyboard? Can't they just caps the words and put the punctuation? As for rushed story, the story just move so fast within a chapter and it just don't give you the suspense and you don't really feel like reading anymore. The author should took his/her time to write the story and check if there's any mistake.

I always have writer's block for no reason and whenever I have ideas, I just couldn't write them out so I have to write it in point form first and get back to it later when I can sort of write in full sentence. *sigh*

I have to agree with Mel-Girl about people turning away because of a particular shipping as I, too, do that. People tend to follow the majority and thus, many like popular shippings such as poke, contest, advance, etc...

When I review fics, I try to point out the both the positive and negative aspects of the fic, but give them advice on how to improve while doing so. I also don't like to see fics where it's obvious that there are improvements to be made, but there are 100 some reviews only saying, "I LUVVV IT PLZ UPDTAE SOON!". As my english teacher says, "It makes me sad inside". This is mostly on ffn though, as that's where I spend a lot of my time and where I first started out as fic author.
Fortunately, here on SPPf, I haven't received many reviews like this, and they've had substance. Which is good. : D
Like others have said, leave a review that you would like to receive.

Also, it disappoints me when people don't read fics just because the pairing is uncommon, or not "popular". It's hard for me as someone who writes stuff like Contestshipping, as well as cracky yaoi 'ships (EliteUnder <33). I feel as though some hardcore religious Contestshippers shy away from the CS I write solely because I've known for doing some obscure stuff, like obsessing over some yaoi 'ships and TG.
But this might just be all in my head and I'm making silly generalizations. *shrugs*

Oh, this is is such a cool idea! I know I usually stick to fanfiction.net for my fics and don't post here very often, but I do like to leave reviews now and then and follow some of the fanfics posted here, so I hope it's OK that I post here.

Anyway, I agree with what everyone's said about reviews. While, if I remember correctly, the one fic I did post here got lenghty, helpful reviews (thanks, everyone!) and bad reviews don't seem to be as much of a problem on this forum, on ff.net they're rampant. I mean, seriously, ninety-five percent of the reviews I get over there are just "I luv it! Write more!" types of things, and while those make me feel pretty good, they're not at all helpful and not even accurate half the time. I know what my strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to writing--just like anyone, I'm not perfect--and I expect to get comments on both my strengths and weaknesses, and I never do. I more or less know which parts of my fics need improvement (and I'm either admittedly too lazy to fix them or don't have the skill to), but very few people ever point these things out. My fics aren't perfect; why do people treat them like they are most of the time? Reviewers need to realize that most writers aren't afraid of construcitve criticism. Honestly, I have a hard time not taking things personally and don't have very thick skin, but even I wish I could receive more con-crit!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people give these types of reviews to mediocre and at times even awful fics. Honestly, how many times have I read a fic and thought "this is awful" and then read reviews that say "OMG this is awesome!!11"? It's like people don't even care about the quality of a fic as long as it's about a certain couple or as long as the two characters get together in some cliched, sappy, predictable way and kiss at the end.

Speaking of that, I'm so, so sick of fics like that! It's gotten to the point that I've become afriad of anything that looks like a confession fic because most of them are the same and, well, just darn bad. Ash and Misty (or whoever your couple of choice is) aren't going to magically get together out of no where or just because some little thing happened. Also, where's the conflct? I mean, people don't just confess and then kiss and then everything's all hunky dory just like that. It seems like authors are afraid to write anything else, though. I mean, I'm pretty sure I've gotten comments along the lines of "that was great and all, but why didn't you have Ash and Misty kiss or get together or something?" on some of my fics. No, just no!

I totally agree with what Mel-Girl said about the popularity thing; honestly, that's one of the most frustrating things about fanfiction in my eyes. Lots of mediocre fics get lots of great reviews just because the author's known throughout the fandom, and that's really not right or fair. Also, when people obviously favor certain authors, it makes it hard for others to get a foot in the door, so to speak. People become too intimidated to post their fics when it seems like people only read fics by certain members.

As for suggestions for reviews, it's as simple as offering both praise and criticism. If there's legitimately nothing to criticize (which is rare, but I have come across fics that have managed to pull it off, at least in my eyes), then at least say what you like about the fic and why and don't just leave those stupid "OMG I <3 it" one-liners that everyone hates. Go into detail about what was good! Like I said, though, usually there's something that can be improved upon in fics; don't be afraid to say what it is! Also, feel free to critque anyone. I know that I sometimes find myself thinking, "but it's so-and-so, and he/she is so popular and good; I can't possibly critique him/her!" Don't be like that. Writing is very subjective (unless you're talking about the mechanics of it like grammar and spelling...on that note, please use spell check and get a beta if you're bad at grammar!), and what one person thinks is good another person might think is bad, but that doesn't mean either person is right or wrong. Everyone has personal preferences, and people shouldn't be afraid to say what they think, even if it goes against what everyone else is saying. Every writer can benefit from every opinion!

Overall, I think ~Mist's~ list of suggestions for reviews is very helpful. Everyone should read it!

Anyway, I hope this doesn't sound too much like one big rant! Hopefully there was some constructive stuff in there.

Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said? ^^;; Everyone has really good points, but I especially like what Mel said here:

Originally Posted by Mel-Girl

I also hate plots that turn out really convenient. Like it flows too easily, problems solved within seconds. Honestly, how many stories have we had where it's like: Ash does something bad! Next chapter, Ash and May make up! All chapters onwards, Ash and May are still a couple and anyone who attempts to interfere end up being shot down and every other characters hates on them.

I honestly think that the point of a story (at least to me) isn't to show "lalala, we're so happy. Lalala, we have no problems, lalala." Honestly, isn't that boring? What you want in a story is first of all a plot which is also called a storyline. The plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story. If all you have is just "lalala, we're so happy", what kind of a plot is that? It's be boring to read! We - or at least I do - want to see what it is that's going on with the character; what's their problem? Why do they have it? How can they get through that? Something like that- or in other words: a conflict. You don't have to have something as dramatic as death it can be like they can't get their crush to like them or something.

Just, in general, a worthy conflict that can't be solved in a second.

And please make any character who gets in their way believable- as in they don't go ahead and say "SHUT UP" and they go "okay, I'll do whatever you tell me too." You know?

I don't think flaming fits in to stories either. It follows with what I just said. Plus, I think it's pretty lazy of you to flame characters, it's like giving yourself a get-out-of-jail-free card. Like you have no conflicts you can think of and then- oh! Here comes an unsuspecting character you hate! Okay, yeah, let's make them so very in love with your main character and then make your main character reject them so badly they go ahead and become severely depressed! And then your main shipping can hold each other together and gaze in to each others eyes and kiss passionately while the rejected person cries and cries and cries! Whoopee!

Seriously, I find flaming something that lazy authors do, authors, who, for whatever reason want to make the shipping they support seem a million times better so they flame whoever is convenient.

And yeah, I guess that's it lol. My post is probably a lot shorter than others :P

As for my own problems for writing [we're allowed to talk about it and ask for help, right? ^^;;] I've gone through soooo many writer's blocks that I lost count @__@ It gets to be annoying when I know what I want to write and I just don't know how to write it. Well, finally I got over my writer's block and went on for a few chapters. But now I haven't written anything in two months.

See, I don't want to be quick to label this as writer's block again since I know what I want to write, I'm just too lazy to write it. Any suggestions to shake this laziness out of me? :O

To be honest, a lot of the reviews I see are utter crap. Sorry to break it to you guys, but it's true.

Just a pointer: Reread a review you wrote. Ask yourself "how would this help the person and their writing?" if you can answer it in your review, I'd say it's good. People will never perfect writing, so there is always something that can be done better in my opinion.

the answer we're looking for won't be found easily,
but we knew that when we took the first step.

I generally try to leave my reviews a minimum of a paragraph. If I find something wrong with it, I'll point it out and say how I feel. If I liked or loved something I will point it out. I personally do not care for the ship or the plot. Im not very good at pointing grammar mistakes either but I still still point out the one or two that become obvious to me.

One liners are over-rated, and I always read the reviews first before I read the actual fic. I learn tend to learn that everybody sort of has a different reviewing response.

If I am reading a really bad fic, I'll try and be polite as possible. You can say, I'm a Little Miss Nice girl when it comes to reviewing because even if the fic has bad spelling/grammar/plot or exceedingly OOC, I can always find something good to say.

We're all going to have different tastes and everyone is going to have different standards and approaches to both writing/reviewing.

I think this is when the term beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Whilst a random reader can check a fic up on fan fiction and think it's horrendous, another will say wow that is awesome and leave a blank review. Another will flame and a wise one will give a clear rounded off critique.

You can say I'm far too nice when it comes to reviews, I say nice things even about bad fics.

Another thing I forgot to add was that a lot of fics and it's pretty damn prominent in shipping fics as well is the characters not being in character. Like oh man, all genres have a problem with this and I hate to admit it, but this happens mostly with the shippy fics. This is because shipping is like, the most popular genre and so many people write it, so there's a higher chance of the characters being OOC.

That's another factor I find very important. I read a Naruto fic where Naruto and people were like, "Yeah, check out Hinata, isn't she hot?" And Sasuke was like, "Sakura's one hot babe!" And I was staring at the computer screen with this face, "o________________O? WTF...?!" Seriously, if you're going to incorporate such an such a character into your fics, at elast get their personality right. Or you're just using the names of canon characters and that's it.

Felt like giving a rundown of some characters, just to get across the point. Feel free to argue any of my points, seriously.

Satoshi/Ash: Everyone knows he's a clueless guy when it comes to love. This however, doesn't mean he doesn't know what marriage is and is completely altogether, flat-out oblivious. I think he's aware of love, but he feels it doesn't particularly concerns him. Because he doesn't assosciate himself with love too often, for him to be aware of another's crush or to have one himself would be unusual. Also Satoshi has only had one moment where he's liked another girl, whcih was Seiyo (Giselle) and even then, he wasn't majorly crushing on her. It was one of those, 'Oh, she's kinda hot!' things. So I think the problem with Satoshi in shipping fics is that he's either made a bit too interested in getting together with someone or is so dense, it's insane.

Shinji/Paul: Oh my goodness, Shinji is easily made OOC. I hate it when people describe him as 'that arrogant cold-hearted jerk' as if they're saying, that's ALL Shinji is. They make him so cold-hearted and jerk-ish to everybody when he's more indifferent and doesn't give a crap. And he isn't that arrogant, not in a Shigeru sort of way. Honestly, Shinji doesn't go on and on about his achievements and how cool he is, if anything, he more puts others down rather than raises himself up. And anyway, Shinji isn't completely cold-hearted and anti-social. Yeah, I don't see him as cold-hearted and anti-social. I see him as being indifferent and working to achieve his own goals, which he takes very seriously. Yeah, people write him as either being too interested in other people or so anti, it's hard to believe it when he suddenly makes out with Hikari or some other character.

Eh, I'll do one more.

Kasumi/Misty, Haruka/May and Hikari/Dawn: Yes, I'm categorizing them all altogether, mostly because the same stuff happens with all of them. All I can say is that the most OOCness I see for these three in fics is making them too guy crazy or so perfect in every way. There's a lot of fics where -insert girl here- is the top student in the school and the guy they get together with is designed to be the opposite, the bad boy rebel. Kasumi, Haruka and Hikari haven't shwon themselves to be the brainiest of all brainy, but the girls do get it the worst for Mary Sueness. Not to mention, these girls always get their guy. They're all paired up perfectly, aren't they? Which then leads to another point that I'll bring up later.

Oh yeah and another thing. Have you ever gotten reviews that ask you to write certain ships? Like say you write mostly Pokeshipping and then a reviewer was like, "Can you write *thinks of a random ship* Cavaliershipping?" I've gotten reviews like that and while I don't find it to be majorly annoying, I think it is in a way a bit of presusre on the reviewers to the author because it's basically saying, "I want you to write such-and-such."

Just let authors be with what shippings they write, ya know? Also the author didn't ask for opinions on what shippings to write too. Honestly, I'd love for certain ships to be in fics, but I never ask for it. Going along the same lines, saying, "So and so must get together!" is also kinda annoying. Saying, "I hope things work out between so-and-so" doesn't annoy me as much though, because things can work out between so-and-so without so-and-so getting together. XD

Anyway, continuing on from what I said about pairing up perfectly, I notice that there are a lot of fics where practically everyone is paired up. Notice the famous 'PokeContestIkari' as a prime example? And half the time, these pairings aren't written well either... ;;^^ As much as I love those three pairings, they do get it the worst in terms of no. of bad fanfics. I want to know though, why do people choose to write these pairings? So many latch onto these three because it's popular, that's how I see it as.

And these people who choose to write popular pairings because they're popular, not because they have a real love for it, does that mean they love writing or love getting reviewed?

As to what Tiffany said, I think that if you have given a bad review in the past, just edit your review or if the author has updated since then, work harder to write a better review for them. Help out the authors, guys!

I keep saying all this stuff, damn it. Ah well, people are agreeing with me, mwahaha.

Yes, many of you need to work on your reviewing. It saddens to me to check out the fics here and see the threads spammed with OMG NEXT CHAPTER PL0X!!!!!!1111ONE

You all know how to read and comprehend, and should at least know the basics of a short story...as well as have at least /some/ knowledge of grammar and punctuation. The author took his/her time to write the fic, and you as the reviewer should take your time in critiquing it. Posting, "GREAT JOB!" and things like that? Those types of things do not help the author improve or fix mistakes (if there are any) at all. You should always post the good points and the bad points when reviewing a fic. The authors won't kill you or cuss you out if you point out mistakes or parts of their fic that could be improved, I promise.

I also really dislike people who quote a HUGE paragraph/part of the fic in their reviews, and say like one or two things and then call it a review. That is not a review, guys. That is spam. D: It's fine to quote stuff and point out things about it, but don't quote like almost the entire fic. >>;

Another thing that really gets to me is how some of you rush the authors into posting new chapter(s). Some of you may not realize it, but, "POST THE NEXT CHAPTER SOON!" IS indeed rushing the author. It is rude and completely unnecessary. Please, don't do it. e_e;

I think that's it for now. The only other thing I can say is READ THE POSTS MADE BY THE AUTHORS IN THIS THREAD - especially if you are currently reading a fic by one of them.

Okay first of all, one of the main things that upsets me are one-liner reviews such as “BEST CHAPTER EVER!!! X28352394837” I mean, I’m glad that they like the chapter, but it’s not exactly what I was hoping for. My chapters are usually about 15 pages on Word or more, and they take a few hours to type out, and I get a one-liner review that takes like…. 10 seconds to post? >_> It’s pretty disappointing. This is one of the reasons why I post my stories on serebii and NOT FF.net where 99% of reviews are one-liners >_>. But sadly, the percentage is slowly creeping up on serebii.

Here are some of the main things in reviews that I love to see:
1) They tell me which part was good (The quote + comment method is usually quite helpful as long as the quote isn’t ultra long and the comment has a decent length)
2) They tell me in what areas I should improve (i.e. be more descriptive)

And for fanfiction work:
1) Use spaces to separate paragraphs. Blocks of text are a pain to read.
2) Get an editor to proofread your work (especially if English is not your first language). Grammatical and spelling errors are irksome to readers.
3) Don’t make a story with an overused plot, such as what the authors above have said (short event + confession + kiss = the end).

There’s actually I lot I could say about this. But yes, I agree with all of you. I’ve found myself shying away from a lot of fanfiction these days because a lot of what fanfiction authors write these days totally skew the characters into something totally different. For example, sometimes a totally innocent and naďve character in an anime will swear every time they speak in a fanfiction work; other times, you have a total punk whispering sweet nothings into the other person’s ear >_> That totally destroys the image the characters originally had.

Brief summary:
Reviewers – Let the author know what needs improvement and what is awesome. Remember to describe it in detail.
New Authors – If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! But make sure you consider the suggestions given by your reviewers, or else you probably won’t succeed >_>

I don't think it's just being able to critique a piece of writing, because even if you put time into make corrections, you don't want to sound/look like a bland editor.
In the past, I've had reviewers take their time nitpicking EVERY LITTLE mistake, tell me I should correct that and then click out. But what was good about it? Critiques like that are, truthfully, helpful but they make reviewers appear to be bullies, especially when every other reviewer is pointing out good things to keep up.

Personally, I always like to stay on a strict format when I review (if I ever...I only don't because I'm too busy looking for the spammers). I always start out with what I liked, even if it's only one thing, and then go to critique, and I usually only point out the giant things or the problems that reoccur over and over again. I then end off by saying my overall thoughts, which usually consist of encouragement because I think people should always continue to make it better.

Originally Posted by Mel-Girl

Just let authors be with what shippings they write, ya know?

I completely agree. If a writer is good at writing a ship, it's probably because that's the one they like the most (or one of them. If you ask a writer to write something else, they probably wouldn't be too good at it or just wouldn't put their all in it. To answer you, I have been asked to write other ships, but they weren't anything I couldn't handle because one was major crack (Jigglypuff/paper towel/Socrates by PsiUmbreon) and the other was a nice little Pokemon shipping (Milotic x Gyarados...I know, no one knows this one...I am planning on it soon ).

Originally Posted by kawaii-lurve

Firstly, I hate reviews that are basically 'Update soon!!11!!', 'Omg i looooooove it! can't wait for the next chapter!!' and that's ALL they write in that post. If review is just like that, I can simply write 'I love it, please update soon!' and copy and paste in every fic.

I infract those on sight. >D
Seriously guys, if you find reviews that are like that, report them and one fo us will come and rid your thread of it.

Encyclopika:
Made the banner
Is a GIRL. >.>;;
Has a deviantART account and a Tumblr
Is on Fanfiction.net.Need a moveset for a specific Pokemon for a specific contest? PM me!
Don't reply to my infractions. It's not gonna change anything.
Random friend requests do nothing. Let's actually talk first. >_<

I was just looking around and seeing a new thread interested me so here I am ^.^

Well, so far everyone has made excellent points and really, it's kind of the common courtesy you should expect to see on fanfiction sites...I am an AMV-maker and when you leave professional opinions on someone's vid, even then the format doesn't differ that much. Really, you have to understand where the author is coming from, what they have done with existing material, how they have created a new storyline and what ultimately has been lost in translation. There actually is never a "bad story idea," what just fails is the execution. And that is what reviewing is for- you can always help someone in any way considering that really none of us are professional writers and of course, there is no such thing as no room for improvement. Or someone gets the appreciation and respect from those who realize that writing a fanfic for whatever reason is earnest work and usually involves a good deal of time and planning. You must respect the author, give them credit where it's due, and then go onto give constructive criticism. There never needs to be a time where you sound harsh- kind honesty should always leave the author with a sense of coming away with a new perspective on their work. And if they react bitterly to what you have exposed, then just look away and understand that they need time to see that what you have said is true.

New authors also should note that just as you are taking the time to write a story, some people are reading it through and leaving you comments. No matter how detailed, though it shouldn't just be spam XP, you should always thank them...I don't know if it's a problem here but if you aren't going to acknowledge receiving the advice, who's going to want to keep helping you out? >:l

But my real question to the Shipping Fics thread is "why aren't there more reviews?" Maybe this is just me; I have a 19 chapter story that has so far received ONE review...just one. I ask politely for reviews in the notes at the end of the chapter and update frequently but I am getting the impression that people usually skip stories with no shipping explicitly stated in the title or are so new and original, they don't fulfill "the shippyfluff need" so many of us crave. XD;; I know I don't leave reviews, but it is more like I can't, due to time management...that still doesn't mean that fics should be passed over for any reason close to "ehh, looks ok but I want more of the same old..." XD

I was wondering if, like we do on the org for AMVs, there could be an opinion exchange thread- basically you announce your story and in exchange for someone reading and leaving a good review, you give his/her story a looksie...it works really well on that site and I have no idea if it is acceptable or not, just throwing it out here because I sincerely empathize with anyone waiting for a review and not getting one D: Feedback is the only way to improve!

Yay, I finally learned how to multi-quote! /is pathetic/
And good thing, because there's a lot to reply to...

Originally Posted by Milotic17

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people give these types of reviews to mediocre and at times even awful fics. Honestly, how many times have I read a fic and thought "this is awful" and then read reviews that say "OMG this is awesome!!11"? It's like people don't even care about the quality of a fic as long as it's about a certain couple or as long as the two characters get together in some cliched, sappy, predictable way and kiss at the end.

You hit on one of my major pet peeves as well, and this unfortunately happens so much on ffn... And I feel like even if you do give the writer some concrit, they'll ignore it because 100 other reviews say their story is amazing. It's unfortunate when people ignore constructive criticism or get mad at the person who said it when they were only trying to help...

Originally Posted by Uzamaki Hinata

As for my own problems for writing [we're allowed to talk about it and ask for help, right? ^^;;] I've gone through soooo many writer's blocks that I lost count @__@ It gets to be annoying when I know what I want to write and I just don't know how to write it. Well, finally I got over my writer's block and went on for a few chapters. But now I haven't written anything in two months.

See, I don't want to be quick to label this as writer's block again since I know what I want to write, I'm just too lazy to write it. Any suggestions to shake this laziness out of me? :O

Yeah, I end up having this same problem. I know exactly what I want to write, and just can't get it down on paper. Or I will start writing something, and then just stop for longgg periods of time and work on other things and I know I shouldn't but...
So yes, does anyone have a cure for this laziness? =P

Originally Posted by Mel-Girl

Shinji/Paul: Oh my goodness, Shinji is easily made OOC. I hate it when people describe him as 'that arrogant cold-hearted jerk' as if they're saying, that's ALL Shinji is. They make him so cold-hearted and jerk-ish to everybody when he's more indifferent and doesn't give a crap.

And OOC Paul is exactly what makes me shy away from Ikarishipping. It isn't that I see Paul as Mel-Girl described here, but as overly sappy and loving and blahh. I just want to know in what dimension would Paul be all lovey-dovey over Dawn. But I like dark, kinda angsty Ikarishipping, but that's just my personal preference.

Originally Posted by Mel-Girl

Anyway, continuing on from what I said about pairing up perfectly, I notice that there are a lot of fics where practically everyone is paired up. Notice the famous 'PokeContestIkari' as a prime example? And half the time, these pairings aren't written well either... ;;^^ As much as I love those three pairings, they do get it the worst in terms of no. of bad fanfics. I want to know though, why do people choose to write these pairings? So many latch onto these three because it's popular, that's how I see it as.

Yeah, and if that's the only reason, it's sort of sad... Sometimes I wonder how Ikari got thrown into the mix; I guess it's because then there would be tension and conflict between all of them, and you don't see that much between Dawn and Kenny. Childish teasing is all. ...Though the same could be said about Contestshipping.

I'm actually trying my hand at one of these "Golden Trio" fics, as I've seen it referred to on ffn (it makes me cringe, and reminds me of Harry Potter =P), or PokeContestIkari. But I'm trying to make it different than all the other ones out there where the couples just argue, confess, kiss and then be done with it.
After all, the main focus of what I'm writing isn't the pairings, but overcoming the hardships of life and finding "light in the darkness" if you wanna be cliche about it. Haha.

Originally Posted by Encyclopika

Personally, I always like to stay on a strict format when I review (if I ever...I only don't because I'm too busy looking for the spammers). I always start out with what I liked, even if it's only one thing, and then go to critique, and I usually only point out the giant things or the problems that reoccur over and over again. I then end off by saying my overall thoughts, which usually consist of encouragement because I think people should always continue to make it better.

That's pretty much how I review as well. I tend to just give overall points rather than nitpick, but if it's clear the author really needs it I will.

Originally Posted by Encyclopika

I infract those on sight. >D
Seriously guys, if you find reviews that are like that, report them and one fo us will come and rid your thread of it.

*is on the hunt* Haha, joking.

But it's good to see so many people sharing their opinions about all sorts of things aspects of fic writing, reviewing, etc. Yup, I really like this place. : D

Sometimes, when I'm being lazy in that way...or having that kind of writer's block, I read manga (since I'm very visual in other art places) or read just a section of a favorite book. I don't know if this happens to a lot of people, but I'm like a Ditto with writing - if I read a book before writing my own, I take on the other author's voice and sense for vocabulary. (I know this, because my voice so obviously changes in Contest Tie with the books I was reading during its lifetime). That's why I look at some of Nathaniel Hawthorne (sp?). His stories aren't my cup of tea, but I like his sense for vocabulary and metaphors. :P And thus, I use them in my own writing after looking at his stuff.
Sometimes I just start writing it if I know what it's going to be and then read it over some other day and change it to sound more professional...and I love using thesaurus here too. XD
Those are my strategies; hopefully it'll help. Does anyone else look at particular author of inspiration? XD

And OOC Paul is exactly what makes me shy away from Ikarishipping. It isn't that I see Paul as Mel-Girl described here, but as overly sappy and loving and blahh. I just want to know in what dimension would Paul be all lovey-dovey over Dawn. But I like dark, kinda angsty Ikarishipping, but that's just my personal preference.

Truthfully, I think Paul is one of the hardest characters to put in shipping fic because he is so nonchalant about people or is rude. I tried my hand at Ikarishipping twice - once as part of callaboration of works for the winter holidays, and then as its own fic which I had to discontinue because it was just so hard to make Paul IC, I had to stop.
Paul isn't the only "rude" rival that gets that treatment - Drew fell into the same OOCness. D: It was either he was too snobby, made into a complete villan for anti-Contestshipping ships, or, like Paul, was lovey dovey. I write his character in almost everything I write and for a fact I know that Drew is not that way - he is an encouraging rival with the tendency to tease MAY, but the nuance of shippyness in him is obvious.

Encyclopika:
Made the banner
Is a GIRL. >.>;;
Has a deviantART account and a Tumblr
Is on Fanfiction.net.Need a moveset for a specific Pokemon for a specific contest? PM me!
Don't reply to my infractions. It's not gonna change anything.
Random friend requests do nothing. Let's actually talk first. >_<

I get the problem of knowing what I want to write but I'm just too lazy to do so. While other people may say, "It's okay, you can take your time", it isn't exactly always what we wanna hear, right? Especially when you're brewing with ideas for a fic and you want to write it so bad and then the moment you begin writing, you're like... "...I can't be bothered." But you still wanna write. It's a difficult dilemma that I and many others run into.

And yet you can't force yourself to rush it otherwise you won't be writing at your best. What I do to get my creaitivity and inspiration for writing running is read lotsa fics, listen to the right music, do whatever until my mind snaps into the "I wanna write, I'm gonna write!" mood. And when you hit that high, that is when you should write. You gotta do things that would get your mind flowing, ya see? It doesn't always work in an instant though... XD;

I also have the problem of writing like crazy and then I get distracted from it, whether it be, "Wow, suddenly I'm hungry!" or "OMG! so and so's online!" or "WTF play solitaire" Okay, I'm a sad little Solitaire addict, so whatever. Even if I put the distractions away, they always come back. So uh, I know how to get myself back into writing, but how do I remain focused on writing?

I'd like to know what you guys thinks about this.

And OOC Paul is exactly what makes me shy away from Ikarishipping. It isn't that I see Paul as Mel-Girl described here, but as overly sappy and loving and blahh. I just want to know in what dimension would Paul be all lovey-dovey over Dawn. But I like dark, kinda angsty Ikarishipping, but that's just my personal preference.

Hn, ah yes, I should've put more emphasis on the lovey-dovey OOC Shinji. Though I did mention at the bottom of my paragraph for him that he's either too angsty/cold-hearted or too interested in love. :O

Paul isn't the only "rude" rival that gets that treatment - Drew fell into the same OOCness. D: It was either he was too snobby, made into a complete villan for anti-Contestshipping ships, or, like Paul, was lovey dovey. I write his character in almost everything I write and for a fact I know that Drew is not that way - he is an encouraging rival with the tendency to tease MAY, but the nuance of shippyness in him is obvious.

There's so many Contestshipping fics out there where Drew is blatantly OOC. I tend to avoid Contestshipping because it's too popular, tbh. I don't want to write an overdone pairing and an overdone plotline. Maybe that's why I did a multishipping Hikari fic as Hikari's only popular ship is Ikari but Ikari fics on their own never seem to do as well as PokeContestIkari fics, mostly because people are there more for the Pokeshipping and the Contest than for the Ikari. Ikarishipping has just become some sorted of added on bonus and I want this ship done justice too...

Yeah, I kinda want to see these popular pairings written well and yet at the same time, seeing these same shippings over and over again in fics gets a tad tiresome. WTF at PokeContestIkari being the Golden Trio. Of course it's a self-proclaimed trio, not everyone agreed to that. If I had my way, my golden trio would be PenguinIkariIronWill but no, the Golden Trio was given its name by their supporters because they think their three ships are the best and that nobody else will mind this name. A ship shouldn't be more superior than another ship.

I was wondering if, like we do on the org for AMVs, there could be an opinion exchange thread- basically you announce your story and in exchange for someone reading and leaving a good review, you give his/her story a looksie...it works really well on that site and I have no idea if it is acceptable or not, just throwing it out here because I sincerely empathize with anyone waiting for a review and not getting one D: Feedback is the only way to improve!

Do you mean like a thread where you can request people to read and review your fics? I think there's something similar to that in the fanfiction section of the forums. :O

Does anime/manga count? Because I get inspired by manga like Fruits Basket and such. Hell, I'd gotten ideas for fics from anime like 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya' and some scenes from other manga/anime have inspired me for ideas. Hell, somehow Death Note has inspired me lately.

Speaking of inspiration, does anyone have music that inspires them when writing shipping fics? I remember writing one of my better chapters for my 'Except Me' while listening to that 'Ever Fallen In Love' song. XD And weirdly enough, I thought my writing for 'Meiryoku Curse' was better when listening to 'The World' by Nightmare (first Death Note opening theme). I am so weird with my music taste. Oh and 'See it in a Boy's Eyes' by Jamelia helped me write a oneshot from ages ago too... XD;

Wow, is this thread raking in the giant posts or what? Ah well, I think this thread is like my 'Rambly Mel-Girl' thread because seriously, I write long posts for thsi thread and others have made long posts too. XD; I'm glad I'm making sense though, with whatever I'm saying. XDD

On the subject of reviewing, I take most, but it really annoys me when people bother me about updating, or they just say that the fic is good, and they don't elaborate on anyhting, not even their favorite part, fluffiest part, ect.
I mean, I like the positive comments, but can't someone be a good enough reviewer to give at least one form of constructive criticism?

And OOC Paul is exactly what makes me shy away from Ikarishipping.

^Exactly my thoughts on most IkariShipping fics I have read.

Speaking of inspiration, does anyone have music that inspires them when writing shipping fics?

Oh yes. I write my best when i'm listening to my iTunes. I try to seperate my songs into which ship i'm writing, for example, an angsty love song for something one sided, or a very powerful song for something sappy ^^

I don't think flaming fits in to stories either. It follows with what I just said. Plus, I think it's pretty lazy of you to flame characters, it's like giving yourself a get-out-of-jail-free card. Like you have no conflicts you can think of and then- oh! Here comes an unsuspecting character you hate! Okay, yeah, let's make them so very in love with your main character and then make your main character reject them so badly they go ahead and become severely depressed! And then your main shipping can hold each other together and gaze in to each others eyes and kiss passionately while the rejected person cries and cries and cries! Whoopee!

Ugh, agreed, agreed, agreed. Most authors who write like this tend to be more pro-devotees of their chosen 'ship and seek to make an example of other 'ships, unfortunately. Fics involving this are usually just thinly-veiled attempts to flame characters/ships that the author dislikes, and it's a surefire way to tell what threads to ignore in the fics section.

Originally Posted by Mel-Girl

Also shipping fics never seem to incorporate anything other than shipping. A fic can be more than just 'two characters get together!' A shipping fic doesn't mean it has to be all about shipping. A shipping fic is just a fic that includes shipping. That's what I like about fics like 'Good Love Charm' (by Gazmof), you care for more than just the shipping. I like all the stuff going on with the characters in his fic and the Advanceshipping has turned into a side "Awww" for me.

Aww, why thank you, Mel :D I think a lot of it stems from the fact that I first started writing original trainer fanfiction, which tends to require a more complex plot than that which you'll find in most shipping fics. Though I don't necessarily think that a fic requires a tonne of plot twists and side-stories to really shine - the opposite can quite often be true. There are lots of times when I see fics where the author has simply tried to cram too much information into too small a space and the whole piece suffers as a result; you're never sure who's coming or going and nine times out of ten I'll just stop reading. Multishipping fics are most common to fall victim to this due to their extensive cast of characters, so that's something for writers to consider.

Originally Posted by Mel-Girl

Ah yes and the one thing that really bugs me is the people who write for reviews, not because they love it and they want to learn and improve their writing skills. Popularity >>>> skill half the time in the fanfiction world. Just because they write popular shippings and the readers know they're going to get shippy moments doesn't mean that what they write is great. In fact, lots of popular fics (I'm mostly talking ff.net here) aren't as great as the amount of reviews may suggest.

Agreed, 100%. I think someone also made note of the fact that popular users tend to get reviewed more frequently than those who are less well-known. While I do think this is true to a certain extent, I think a fic's popularity is based mostly on what main 'ships it focuses on. This is only natural, as we all read shipping fics to see our favourite couples get together, but it is somewhat disappointing to know that people are missing out on some great fics - there have even been a few out there that have made me into a fan of certain character shippings purely because they were so good and portrayed the characters so well that I can't imagine them in any other way now. Oneshots are a really great way to open yourself up to new 'ships as they're short, to-the-point and usually don't have a lot of unnecessary plot elements to get in the way of the overall picture.

Ugh, agreed, agreed, agreed. Most authors who write like this tend to be more pro-devotees of their chosen 'ship and seek to make an example of other 'ships, unfortunately. Fics involving this are usually just thinly-veiled attempts to flame characters/ships that the author dislikes, and it's a surefire way to tell what threads to ignore in the fics section.

Ah, yes, this is something that I meant to respond to earlier. I really dislike it when author's openly (or even subtely) flame another character just because they could interfer with their favorite ship. I remember at one time when Brendan was the target of tons of flaming from Contestshippers, him always being portrayed as the bad guy for no reason other than for May to hate him and get together with Drew.
Unfortunately, I've seen this happening to Kenny as well recently. I read a fic where he was incredibly abusive to Dawn and Paul swooped in to save her. It was so OOC, and without explanation at all...

Sometimes I see people create jerky OCs to get in the way and then later bash... I mean, at least it isn't canon characters, but I don't see the point of creating your own character just to later say they suck and have everyone hate them for interfering with the ship :/ At least give them some other purpose...

And this talk of OCs can bring up so many more topics... But I'm going to stop complaining.

As for inspiration...It hits me randomly. Lately, I've been inspired by a lot of songs, although I don't like writing songfics. What I will do is sort of take the ideas presented in the song and morph them into my own ideas and such for fics.
Reading other fics doesn't even help me get inspired though... Occassionally I come across like amazing fics and I get discouraged from writing. And I know I shouldn't. I actually read some good advice somewhere, and even though it was talking about drawing, it can still apply for writing too. I can't recall it directly right now though...

And a real problem I have when writing is well...rewriting. If I'm not exactly proud of something I've written, I'm still hesistant to completely trash it. I mean, it sucks to get rid of something you worked hard on writing, but sometimes it's for the betterment of the fic as a whole.

I believe that this will be my longest post in quite a while, and hopefully, it will mark my return to these forums with a much more felt presence, and a ton of reading to catch up

'kay, let's see what my mind can think of...

Reviewing

The quality of a review should match how much you enjoyed the work posted.
That is the basic thought.
Mostly, people who truly love a chapter/fic take the time to actually post in response to it. This very thing marks respect, since otherwise, someone wouldn't even bother replying and would just closet-read. When a person decides to post, often, they simply post one-liners, with expressions we all know too well ("write moar" caught my eye earlier lol). This is basicly spam, and is thakfully very rare, exceptions are newbies who post under the addiction of a good fic, and really mean no harm, they just want to express their appreciation. This problem can be fixed over time as members adapt and read the rules.
More general is the fact that, like Tiff said, most reviews are crap. Mine are surely not that different.

Here is why : because they are simply not deep enough.

Shallow reviews of a few lines tell us that you have read the update, and that you (vaguely) liked/disliked some points.

This also nearly qualifies as spam imo.

A review should not only consist of a heads-up of your preference, it should consist of a wide range of facts, going from (in my book) vocabulary, spelling, grammar, character portrayal, style, creativeness, and many more.
In fact, there could be an endless list.
That is why to write a review : you must take your time.

You can't just start your computer, read a fic, post a reply with some impressions, and say you reviewed a fic.

A review must help the author improve.

Therefore you must take the time the cautiously analyse the work in question. After all, your feedback gives the author the material (s)he needs to improve, and thus giving you works of a better consistency.
Stop reading when you spot a mistake and write it down.
Stop when you don't understand a passage and write it down.
Stop when you have a suggestion and write it down.
Anything and everything you think of should be written down and posted for the author to see. (S)he won't bite, (s)he'll appreciate the fact that you've put so much effort in reviewing what (s)he wrote, and in time, will improve.

I emphasise this again : take your time, plan ahead, and don't be afraid to write too much ; be afraid to not write enough.

A side note : the content of the fic in question, shipping wise.
This is close to a no-brainer.
Either you don't read it (which will save time, bashing and mod intervention)
or you put your convictions aside, embrace an open-mind, and read the fic with as much determination to help the author with your constructive review, focusing on characters, plot, vocabulary, etc.
On a personal note, Gazmof and Uza-chan must be smiling when reading this, cause they know that's what I do, and that a ship will never blind me...

Another part that should be mentionned : background

You need to know what you're talking about.

Don't give advice about characters, IC/OOC, if you haven't actually seen the series or read the manga.
Don't give advice about grammar and vocabulary if you're not perfectly fluent in english.
Know your limits, and if you want to push them, reading summaries on serebii or bulbapedia will be a good place to start.
For example, I'm much more comfortable reviewing fics about the Advanced Episodes than the DP Episodes, simply because I've watched every single episode from AG...

If it's a beautiful description, using splendid vocabulary and abundant adjectives, praise the writer.
If you feel something is missing, say it.
If a typo or mistake is concerned, bold it in your quote and re-write it correctly.

Do this multiple times, when you feel something is important, or have especially (dis)liked it.

Do not abuse of this method, and quote every third line ! Most of it is irrelevant, and only makes it harder to point out what you wanted to say the most.

I believe I digress ^^'

The first topic proposed by Kiori was on how to make a better review.
I believe this states my point.

People don't take enough time to review.
I've got Rave the Rich's, Uza-chan's, Gazmof's, Medea's, Esperon's, Renowned Obscurity's, Genkiness', Brian Powell's fics to review, plus a ton more. I could just read them, and say I read them, and go on from there...But every fic will recieve the same work I normally deliver.

Which, what certain people may think, may not be all that, but it's what I do, because I want to help authors through their fictions.

Appreciate their work. They will pay you back tenfold

I'll admit, sometimes when I see a fic that sucks completely, that I can't read, and that is as long as the first five paragraphs of my reply here, I tend to think it's hopeless, and not even read it...
You can complain about crappy reviews all you want, whereas we can't complain about crappy fics.

Writing

I am a mediocre writer.

Plus, I have always considered myself less talented and less bitten by writing.
But at some point in my life, I wanted to write. I eventually did.

The only sort of advice I can give is that, like reviewing, take time.

When describing : put in more, use synonyms for words you thought of first (example : breathtaking paysage, instead of beautiful scene) (you can find them on the internet or by using Nisus )

Being a reviewer primarily, I think : what would I criticise or point out if I were reviewing my own fic.

So I write deeper character thoughts, larger descriptions, wider range of vocabulary and emotions, etc...

Again : don't be afraid to write too much.

And one last thing, it would be good if you have somebody to proofread the fic/chapter before you post it, so (s)he can point out mistakes...

Oh and, when wiritng a shipping fic. Try not to exagerate the "cause" of your ship and "glorify" it.
It's kind of obvious and deminishes the beauty :/

Much shorter than the reviewing part, granted ^^'

In closing : love what you do.
Rarely will you see somebody write because they've lost a bet. It comes from the heart. Reviews should too.
I would have never taken the time to host the oscars if I didn't love fics and this place.
Mist would have never hosted the Shipper's awards if she didn't love the people here.
Surely every thread started in a shipping forum is a message of love from somebody for a certain ship (if you're uncomfortable with talking about "love" think of it as "supporting a ship/idea").
And if you still don't think that authors deserve better than a few lines of general impression, then I guess this thread still has a purpose.
shadow_shipper, at your service.